I'm a retired broadcaster of 31 years. I came to Texas as an 18 year old when the US Navy decided to station me at NAAS Kingsville. I quickly grew a bonified appreciation of Texas and was taken by the character of t he people. I later married a native Texan. Once you marry a Texas girl...you are not going anywhere. I knew I'd spend the rest of my life in Texas. One night while sitting at the dinner table I was gritching and complaining at my son about something. My wife, so out of charactere for her turned to my son and said, "Tyler, do not listen to your father. Understand, you have something your father will never have. YOU were BORN in Texas."  I thought to myself, "How arrogant is that? How Texan. These people have another gene. There must be a T-Chromosome and I'm going to go find it!"    That began a wonderful journey of discovery that became a book--my book, Texas In Her Own Words. I traveled all over Texas from El Paso to Nacogdoches, Amarillo to the Rio Grande valley and countless places in between and talked to her people. I met some remarkable people. I asked them two questions. What makes Texas special? Why is this place so different from any place else on the planet. and if and when it applied, what's it mean to you personally to be a Native Texan? 'Splain that one to me in American so I can understand.   I got some remarkable answers.   Within a month, the Alamo called asking to sell the book in the gift shop. People discovered my little labor love and it has been a nonstop journey ever since. I find I do morer speaking than writing at the moment. I have a passion for speaking about Texas. I understand why Texans are the way they are--where all that attitude comes from. It's real and 100% homegrown. It is not a put on or contrived. it is real. Through my research of the book i was able to drill down on the source of the Texan character. Texans are HOW thinkers not IF thinkers.

Texas In Her Own Words has won 3 national awards: Gold Ben Franklin Award, Bronze IPPY award for creative non-fiction, 1st runner up USA Book News for creative non-fiction.

The current President of the board of directors of the Writers' League of Texas.

Texas In Her Own Words was the winning selection for the Round Rock Reads community book project in Round Rock,TX, Spring 2008.

1st place Humorous speech, Toastmasters International